A year ago Nokia held a massive 63.6% of the smartphone market, the loss of slightly more than 20% of its market share is squarely due to the soaring popularity of the iPhone 3G. According to Electronista, analysts cite the iPhone 3G as the reason that the smartphone market hasn’t had a significant slowdown.

Smartphones from RIM and those running Windows Mobile saw slight downturns over the quarter. Microsoft's Windows mobile platform holds 17% of the smartphone market and Palm OS devices hold 10% of the market. Much of that is likely thanks to the low-cost Palm Centro that has been one of the best selling smartphones in America.

Analysts claim that the increasing popularity of the iPhone signals a wider preference for the business model used by Apple and Palm where they make their own operating systems and have control over the hardware.

Analyst Charlie Wolf from Needham said, "The Symbian operating system is generally considered to be less robust than Windows Mobile or the Palm OS. But Symbian was able to retain a huge lead over competing operating systems chiefly through Nokia’s endorsement and marketing muscle, especially in Europe, along with Microsoft’s difficulties in attracting major handset manufacturers."

Wolf doesn't feel that RIM's Blackberry Storm will gain traction and pose a significant challenge in the market. He cites high-profile mixed or negative reviews that show the Storm doesn’t challenge the iPhone and leaves traditional Blackberry users out.

Strangely, Electronista cites data showing that the iPhone is currently the second most popular smartphone in America behind the Blackberry. NPD released data in November that showed the iPhone was not only the most popular smartphone in America, but the best selling phone in the country overall.

It's interesting that while the popularity of the iPhone is undeniable, it still lacks some of the basic features that other phones offer. The iPhone has been criticized for its poorly performing camera that can't record video. The phone also lacks voice-dialing built-in, though some Apps for the device can fix that omission. Among the other missing features iPhone users wish for are copy and paste, the ability to synchronize iTunes over Wi-Fi, landscape view for the emails, and the ability to hide icons that aren't needed.

The iPhone also makes for an excellent gaming platform, though the iPod touch is faster by some accounts for gaming. Apple has also found itself in hot water over its advertising campaigns for the iPhone. The court proceedings center on ads that boast in a cheeky manner about the speed of the iPhone. Some consumers have claimed that the ads are misleading; Apple basically said in court documents that consumers who believe those ads are fools.

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I don't think Apple is looking to increase the iPhone size past the 16GB mark, but if they do I doubt it would be larger than 32GB which is the current iPod Touch size. Other than processor and memory size there isn't much more to do with the iPhone other than software updates and size reduction. Maybe fix the 3G issue with a new piece of hardware, but then they will need to agree that it is broken first.

I personally would love a 64GB version since I exclusively use the iPhone for my music and I don't have an iPod or any other device for music. The overall package for the iPhone is much better than any other phone available. I like the G1, but there are not as many apps available for it. It is good to be first to market.

Maybe once the exclusive contract with ATT is up Apple will start producing the phone for other carriers. Doing this could significantly increase their market share.

If they stop increasing the capacity of the iPhone, they'll have to drop the price (due to competition and falling component prices).

In other words, by this time next year, 64GB of flash will cost the same as 16GB today...

So if Apple doesn't adopt 64GB, they will actually be spending more per GB than they do now!

It's essentially the reason why Apple has increased capacity of the iPod despite the fact that most users don't have more than 12GB of music (or so). What Apple might do is release an iPhone Nano with only 16GB of flash, just like the iPod Nano.

I wouldn't make that bet. What's different now than in 2001 after Apple released the iPod?

The manufacturers may be more saavy, but not that much more or Apple would never have had to release an iPhone in the first place.

In case your history is lacking, Apple's iPod was released in 2001; their next closest competitor, Creative Labs, didn't release a similarly sized and featured product until 2004.

Apple released the iPhone in 2007, and now it's 2008 with nary a real challenger (the Storm and G1 have had mixed reviews, unlike the iPhone, and as someone else mentioned the N97 uses a resistive touchscreen). Microsoft won't have a solution until late 2009, so no WinMo phone will be able to enter the fray until then. The fact that Nokia is losing marketshare is not good.

Of course I'll be modded down as a fanboy, but the point stands: The iPhone is popular, growing faster than rivals, and unmatched (for now). If anyone matches the iPhone, it will be the old 2007 model (the Storm doesn't even have WiFi!), and if they catch up to the current iPhone, Apple will release a new model with additional features and capabilities (of course, like cut and paste and voice dial and video, but also other features the competitors won't imagine).

[quote=Austinag] I'd bet that next year at this same time, the iphone will have lost a lot of ground to the avalanche of new smartphone coming out.I'm saving up for shinny new Nokia N97! [/quote]

Not only that, but they aren't stating how many people end up ditching the iPhone for a phone that has, uh, meaningful features beyond media and mediocre internet browsing. Sure, a lot of people bought and still buy the iPhone, but few of them are actually loyal to it and a lot end up either switching back to the Sidekick, Blackberry, Palm, or Nokia that they are already familiar with.

The iSmug wears off and all that's left is an iPod that makes phone calls.

Meaningful to who? Email, Text, Phone, Music, Internet, other applications.... What else are you expecting it to do? Granted cut and paste is a hassle, but not enough to ruin Apple's market share. There are many people wanting to get an iPhone, but won't until it is on another service other than ATT.

quote: beyond media and mediocre internet browsing

Mediocre?? Compared to what? Sidekick, Blackbery, Palm, and Nokia have worst internet. The G1 is the only one that comes close and I can't use that because it doesn't have push email. I have never owned an iPod, but the iPhone also takes care of my music and gaming fetish.

quote: few of them are actually loyal to it and a lot end up either switching back

Really? I didn't switch back and I was running a blackjack and prior to that a Blackberry. The one thing that those don't have is the internet browsing capabilities that the iPhone has that I needed.

The numbers don't lie. 16.6% of market share and still growing. This is based on current registered phones with the phone carriers not based on what was purchased. If everyone was switching back then those numbers would be far worse.

I wonder how much of their lost market share is due to the iPhone. I haven't seen anyone use phones from either company for years, and this is before the iPhone came out. In my experience Nokia phones were largely mediocre; there wasn't anything wrong with them, but they just didn't wow me (or anyone else I knew.) I never used a Palm, but I heard numerous complaints about stability, usability, etc... particularly with the Treos.

The problem with Nokia (and other phone vendors) in America is some of the better or more diverse models do not get subsidized with phone plans. That means no cheap "free" or "$50 to $100 with plan" phones. Nokia phones are not bad and I used to have an N80 phone. I actually prefer Nokia brand phones over most other phones. The N95, while large, was certainly a very solid phone in terms of features as is some of the other "N" series phones.

The most intriguing phone from Nokia is going to be their new flagship N97. It will have a touchscreen similar in size to the iPhone as well as contain a slider with QWERTY keyboard. I actually think this might be the first real challenger to the iPhone in terms of popularity buzz. It's slated for the first half of 2009, which in Nokia speak is second half of 2009.

The iPhone has a lot going for it. That is without question. I find it fantastic as an ebook reader using Stanza. Compared to my old N80 it is a much better web browser, not to mention the battery life is much much much better on the iPhone. There are plenty of free apps, some quite useful such as Evernote and the aforementioned Stanza.

The problem is all the maddening lack of features. Features which should be implemented in software. This is especially true in a corporate environment which makes Windows Mobile and RIM phones more suited for that environment.

Oh come off it. The ported AAC, ALE, and limited contact support all the way back to their original iPods. They released the 2.x firmware update for the original iPhone and made it available to the iPod touch.

What makes you think, barring CPU or performance/hardware limits, they won't continue to do the same, moving forward, with future iPhones?

Nokia has around 40% global market share. The US carriers just havent picked up too many Nokia models. I mean take a look at the Nokia E71, it's an awesome phone compared to blackberries etc, but how many americans even know what it is?

The US is the only place where finding a nice Nokia device is a problem... And the only place where people still buy Motorola devices for some strange reason...

If you look at the original article, they aren't actually talking about market share. They are talking about shares of the quarterly sales. The graphs bear this out, as the quarter-to-quarter changes are much more volatile than would be possible if it meant actual market share. The iPhone would have had to go from 0 to 25% market share in one year, then down to < 10% six months later. Did all those iPhones stop working? No, this is clearly sales data and not market share data. The uptick in iPhone sales is due to the 3g model, and, just like with the original model, will trend back down after the intitial rush.

Feature for feature, WinMo, Nokia and Blackberry phones have done everything the iPhone does for years now, and in many cases better. After the initial rush, once peoople are buying on features and not Apple-fanboyism, things will go back to normal.

Um, that is how you define marketshare. Quarterly marketshare, to be precise.

The other thing you don't take into account is that Apple will refresh the iPhone, generating another uptick in sales, and what you believe never happened with the original iPod; why do you think the world is different today than in 2001?

I'm debating the bold vs. an iphone. I'm launching a business, and I have no affinity for Apple (actually a tiny bit resistant ... hey I'm contrarian that way). I know the Blackberry is email, business, corporate etc., but I do like to surf, and since my business is a one person shop, setup my email through google apps.

iPHONE SUX!!! The next blackberry (SHiTstorm) is going to have a touchscreen, will not have iSmug (see how witty I am?), and will be expandable. Beat that Steve Jobs!!Thought i'd start another useless anti apple discussion on this site that has its own RDF where the iPod is shit and global warming is a scientific liberal left wing media conspiracy lie.